


Tanaka's Senpai

by maychorian



Series: Tanaka Week [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Senpai-Kouhai Relationship, but that's completely expected, daichi takes everything too seriously, i swear it is true, suga is an angel, the cutest tanak you will ever read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-16 02:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3471338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maychorian/pseuds/maychorian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sugawara Koushi is very happy to welcome the large group of first-years to the Karasuno volleyball club. But there's one kid with a buzzcut who seems...too quiet. It doesn't seem natural. Suga makes it his mission to find out why.</p><p>Written for Tanaka Week on tumblr, Day One.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tanaka's Senpai

**Author's Note:**

> [Tanaka Week!](http://tanakaweek.tumblr.com/post/110118367853/tanaka-week-2015-prompts)
> 
> I have some catch-up to do, but I swear I will write something for every prompt. Tanaka is my dearest love and I must display that love in most shameless fashion.

Suga nudged Daichi's arm as the first-years shuffled into the gym under Coach Ukai's assessing gaze. "Look at 'em, Daichi. Aren't they cute? So young and fresh-faced."

Daich looked over the seven newcomers. The tiny one with the shock of blond hair on his forehead was already bouncing where he stood, eager to begin practice. The others were a bit more hesitant. "As long as they have spirit. As long as they have the will to win."

Suga tsked and shoved his arm hard enough to make him overbalance and take a step away. "Always so serious, Daichi-kun. Let's just enjoy meeting our first kouhai in high school, eh?"

Practice was tough, as usual. Most of the first-years seemed taken aback by the seriousness—they must have expected it to be fun and easy, like volleyball club in junior high had been. Suga wondered how long they would last. If they would last at all. Maybe Daichi had a point.

But two of the newcomers were different. They poured themselves into the sport with vast energy, giving their all to every spike, every receive, every block. The one with the blond lock was loud, cheerful, and unable to be still. "That's Nishinoya Yuu, the genius libero," Suga heard one of the third-years mutter, and suddenly it made sense. Why had he come to Karasuno? Suga would ask him later.

Suga was more interested in the other one, an average-looking kid with a buzzcut. He was quiet, almost shy...but it didn't seem natural to him. He was holding back. He kept opening his mouth as if he wanted to speak—or yell—then closing it again. And Suga didn't miss the way he glanced at Nishinoya with longing in his eyes, as if he wanted to join his loud nonsense but didn't dare.

What was going on with this kid? Suga couldn't wait to find out.

He approached during cooldown, when everyone was mopping sweat from their faces and gulping water from their bottles. "Hello! Is your name Tanaka?" He was pretty sure the coach had yelled something like that, in amongst a slew of other names. 

The kid nodded, watching Suga with big brown eyes. "Tanaka Ryuunosuke," he said softly.

Suga beamed. "I'm Sugawara Koushi. You can call me Suga. Do you want to get pork buns later? I'll treat you."

Tanaka's eyes got even bigger, if that were possible. "Yes, please."

Suga tilted his head toward the door. "I'll meet you outside after cleanup, okay?"

Tanaka nodded quickly, but bit back any words he'd been about to say. Suga smiled and left him to it.

"What are you doing?" Daichi asked later, leaning over into Suga's space as they stretched out their legs on the floor. "There's seven of the rugrats—are you going to treat them all? Your pocketbook can't take it."

Suga shrugged. "I'm curious."

Daichi shook his head. "You and your projects," he muttered, but his voice was fond.

Suga smiled.

He met Tanaka, as promised, outside the gym. The difference was remarkable. Tanaka was bouncing on his toes, and he grinned broad and bright and unafraid when he saw Suga coming.

"Suga-san! You said pork buns, right? I love pork buns!"

Suga laughed and fell in step with him, leading the way to The Foothill Store. "Yes, pork buns! Did you have fun at practice?"

"Yeah! I love it! Volleyball is so much fun!"

Suga grinned. "No kidding? What's your favorite part?"

"Spiking!" Tanaka jumped forward on the sidewalk and swung his arm in demonstration. He did it so fast and so hard that Suga heard a distinct _whoosh_ sound, and the kid almost fell over as his enormous backpack jerked with the movement.

Suga grabbed the handle on the back of the pack and steadied him. "Hitting the ball is fun, huh?"

"Yeah! It feels great! I hit as hard as I can, every single time!"

The walk continued like that. Suga asked questions, and Tanaka responded with all of the vigor and excitement he'd been bottling up during practice. Suga was unsurprised—if a bit smug, even to himself—to discover that he'd been correct. This child was _loud._

Tanaka toned down a little when they entered the store, but he still rocked on his feet, standing next to Suga as Suga paid for the food. They went outside to sit on the bench in front of the store with the bag between them, enjoying the fresh spring air as they ate their buns.

"And Nishinoya-san is so cool," Tanaka said through a mouthful of pork, crumbs flying from his lips. "The way he does that roll on the ground to get at the ball... Wow! I've never seen anything like that before."

Suga nodded amiably, just letting Tanaka's words wash over him. Nishinoya was going to be a great boon to the team, of that he had no doubt. But so would Tanaka, he was sure. If only he could figure out why...

"Tanaka..." he started, interrupting whatever his kouhai had been saying.

Tanaka shut his mouth and stared at him with wide eyes.

Suga smiled. "Can I call you that?"

The kid nodded solemnly.

"Tanaka, why were you so quiet during practice? You're not quiet now."

Tanaka's cheeks flushed immediately. He looked down at the ground, kicking his toe against the pavement. "Sorry," he whispered.

A dart of regret pierced Suga's heart. He hadn't meant to make the boy quiet down again. "It's okay!" he said loudly, as if to make up for Tanaka's lack. "I like this Tanaka! You're loud and happy and enthusiastic. It's good!"

Tanaka looked at him out of the corner of his eye, then down at the sidewalk again. "Really?"

At least it was a mutter instead of a whisper.

Suga nodded so hard it made his head hurt. "I really like your spirit, Tanaka. My friend, Daichi, will like it too. He's always talking about how we don't have enough spirit at Karasuno anymore."

Tanaka's shoulders relaxed.

Suga set the empty bag aside and turned to face Tanaka on the bench. "I just wondered why you were so quiet in the gym. You didn't seem like yourself."

Tanaka glanced at him sideways again, before his gaze was drawn inexorably down to the pavement. "They said I was too loud."

Suga leaned forward, straining to catch every word. "Who said that?"

"My senpai. At my old school." Tanaka sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. "They said I was noisy and troublesome, and I would never amount to anything if I didn't control myself. So I've been trying. It's really hard, though, Suga-san."

He turned to look at Suga with his big, liquid eyes. Suga sat back, swallowing against a lump in his throat.

"Well, of course it was hard," he said with forced cheer. "They were trying to make you be something that's not yourself. That's not just hard—it's impossible."

Tanaka stared at him.

Suga coughed into his hand. "You said 'your senpai' told you that, but last year you didn't have senpai, right? How long have you been trying to make yourself quiet?"

Tanaka face screwed up in thought. "A year and a half," he said after a moment. "I think." 

"Well, that's too long," Suga said at once. He would have said the same no matter what answer Tanaka gave. "That's far too long not to be yourself. You don't have to force yourself anymore."

Tanaka's eyes widened in wonder. "Really?" he breathed.

Suga nodded as seriously as he could. It wasn't hard, since he felt like crying. "You can be as loud and enthusiastic and happy as you want to be at Karasuno. All right?"

Tanaka eyed him speculatively. "The senpai won't mind?"

Suga shook his head.

"The coach won't mind?"

Suga shook his head.

"What if I go too far? My dad says I always go too far."

"I'll let you know, okay? But it won't mean that I want you to be quiet. It will just mean that that one specific thing was too much. But you shouldn't be quiet anymore. You should be yourself."

Tanka tilted his head, considering. Suga all but held his breath. After a long moment, Tanaka gave him a grin. It was big and wide and wonderful, and it rivaled the sun above. "Thank you, Suga-san! I won't be quiet ever again!"

Suga had a moment to wonder if maybe he'd made a mistake. But then Tanaka was off, chattering about how cool the third-years were and how strict Coach Ukai was and how he hoped to get much, much stronger and tougher and better at spiking. The moment passed, and nothing mattered but the grin on his kouhai's face and the joy in his voice.

"You and your projects," Daichi growled a month later, eyes winced shut and hands pressed to his ears as Tanaka and Nishinoya's voices rattled and echoed in the gym like the mating calls of particularly enthusiastic whales.

Suga gave him a painful smile. But he didn't regret it.

Not really.


End file.
